Noble gas compound
|
|
Noble gas compounds are chemical compounds that include an element from column 18 of the periodic table, the noble gases.
History
Until the 20th century it was believed that the noble gases could not form compounds due to their full valence shell of electrons that rendered them very chemically stable and unreactive.
However, in 1933, Linus Pauling predicted that the noble gases near the bottom of the periodic table would be able to form compounds with fluorine. This is because noble gases near the bottom of the table have more valence shells than those near the top. Hence, the outermost electrons experience a shielding effect from the inner electrons that makes it easier to ionize them since they are less strongly attracted to the positively-charged nucleus. Additionally fluorine has the highest electronegativity of all the elements, making it the most reactive element.
Discovery
In 1962, Neil Bartlett created a compound of the noble gas xenon, specifically XePtF6. This same year, the compounds XeF2, XeF4, and XeF6 were discovered. Compounds containing radon and krypton combined with fluorine have also been produced. Xenon is also known to combine chemically with oxygen, the second most reactive element.